Scott Fine's Design Blog & Portfolio

Here I hope to analyze as many designs and games as I can and show off the work I am doing or have done in the past. Enjoy!

Featured Posts:

Design Blog

Modern RPGs and Skill Progression

about 3 months ago

This time we’ll be taking a look at a few different RPG leveling systems, and more specifically how they relate to skills. Some light spoilers going forward for Pokemon games, Diablo 4, and Starfield.

A Tale of Three Crafting Systems

about 6 months ago

There are a variety of crafting systems, and they are all interesting in their own ways. Depending on your game’s pillars, you’d probably lean one way over the others. But what are the three most referenced styles?

Zelda TotK & Weapon Durability

about 7 months ago

When games do a weapon durability system, it often comes with two other systems: weapon crafting and weapon repair. These three systems build a nice little loop, but Zelda Tears of The Kingdom only uses durability. We’ll explore what Zelda does to buck the trend and still have a successful loop.

Stray: Emotions and Zurks

about 9 months ago

This time we’ll be lightly touching on how games create specific emotions in players via gameplay. I’ll be using Stray as my example to guide us along. Throughout the game, interactions between the player character and their environment change over time and influence the emotions they feel. This can most easily be noticed when dealing with Zurks.

Mini Mechanic Microscope: Boltgun - The Chainsword

about 9 months ago

Welcome to a Mini Mechanic Microscope, where we very briefly look at a very small mechanic and how it influences a larger one. This time around we’re looking at Boltgun’s Chainsword!

Let's Talk Battle Passes

about 2 years ago

Today we’re going to start talking about battle passes! Almost every successful live game has one, and we’re going to break down the most common types of battle passes seen today. We’ll discuss how they work, and the pros and cons in each.

The Fall of Gacha Boxes and the Rise of the Gacha Store

about 2 years ago

If you’ve been paying attention to the gaming world, you’ll have noticed a certain animosity towards gacha boxes. This has gotten to the point where certain countries are beginning to outright ban them. In this post we’ll explore an alternative.

Finding the Fun: Archero Part 3 - Monetization

about 4 years ago

Welcome to part three of my look into Archero! This time we’ll focus on the monetization aspect of the game and how it doesn’t intrude on the fun.

Where's that Pokémon?

about 7 years ago

Today we'll be discussing how the pokémon locations are determined.

Disney Magic Kingdoms - Game Design Analysis

about 7 years ago

I wrote this from a design perspective and hope anyone who hasn’t familiarized themselves with the app can enjoy the post. I start off outlining the mechanics and how the game functions, to familiarize the reader. From there, we get into the game’s economy balancing and how the designers promoted engagement.

Where have I been? What’s the plan for 2021?

January 29, 2021 in Blog

Hey everyone!

Long time no see! I hope you’re all doing well in 2021. Last year was kinda crazy for me (and everyone else) but this year I want to get back to writing design posts, I’m shooting for about a post a month. I don’t have the time I had before to make posts as often, but I think I can still do a good amount of research and put together a post every month. I’ll be starting next week with a look at some ways to do loot boxes without making them overly predatory (and still keeping the lights on at the studio).

Oh also, before I forget, if you’re in Australia my new game just Soft Launched, NBA Ballstars! We’re working with Netmarble to bring our take on basketball to the Apple App Store and Google Play store. I’ll be running the LiveOps and the Economy for this title. I hope you enjoy it! And if you’re not in Australia, it’ll be available worldwide soon!

Thanks again, and I’ll see you next week!

Scott